Across the Alternate Universes
by Mirage Meister
Summary: A collection of AU's and possible one-shots about Gary and Leaf. [In which Gary has forgotten, Leaf wants to forget, and both hearts still remember]
1. Aegis Force

**Alright, so I know that I've got like, ten stories now and probably one complete, but I just can't help myself. I'm in the middle of finals, but ORS/Conflictshipping is on my brain. I've been _kinda sorta_ thinking about this for awhile. I have waaaaay too many ideas for my OTP, and there's no way I'll ever be able to complete all of them. **

**So I've decided to shorten my ideas and present them to you in this fic, just to see how it goes. If you guys happen to like one of my ideas a lot, I'll continue it or maybe turn it into its own fanfic. It'd be great if my ideas also inspired you guys to create your own ORS stories :3 (because I'm really craving some of those fics right now)**

 **Anyway, getting back on track, this first [uncompleted] chapter is a highschool AU in which I've turned every extracurricular club into something super serious. If you've ever seen or read any anime or manga (like "Special A" or "Ouran Highschool Host Club"), this is basically where you kinda question whether the students ever actually go to school XD. I've tried to minimize that aspect a little in this part, but it'll inevitably come into play when I (eventually) continue this.**

 **The main extracurricular in this AU that comes into play is the school's "safety patrol" of sorts- Aegis Force. So really, this AU is kinda highschool meets police crime schtuff with PG'ed parodies of real life crimes and stuff.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, but I do own the OC's and kind of this whole AU idea...(if you take it, at least say it's not yours. Other than that, go crazy).**

* * *

 **Aegis Force**

 _Tajiri Prepatory School_

 _Aegis Force Chief Office_

 _October 16, 2015, 12:34 EST_

"I want a case, Nat," Leaf demands, slamming her palms onto the commissioner's desk. "If I look at one more test tube, I swear, I'll scream."

Nathaniel Knight raises an eyebrow. "But you're the most brilliant forensics analyst the force has ever had."

"And what will Aegis do when I graduate? I'm a junior now, and it's about time we start training my replacement." Leaf folds her arms skeptically. "Besides, I can't spend my whole career chained to the lab you know. I haven't had my own case since freshmen year."

"And there's a reason for that," Nathaniel reminds her. "Not to mention, you're our greatest asset intel wise."

"I want to be more than intel!" Leaf attempts to contain her voice, but she is just too fed up. She wants that same thrill and adrenaline she felt when she had actually been out on the field. "Just give me one case to prove that I am!"

"Fine." Nathaniel pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'll put you on the next convenient case. But any problems, and I'll put you back in the lab, okay?"

"Alright." Leaf nods happily. There is a knock on the office door that she ignores in light of her victory. "Who's my partner?"

A smile flickers across Nathaniel's face. "Well, what do you know?" he drawls. "That'd be him right there."

"Come on in," he adds, giving her new partner permission to enter.

"Yo, Knight-" None other than Gary _freakin'_ Oak enters, his hands shuffling through a case file. "I've got the crime scene photos from this morning right here, and-"

"You've got to be kidding me!" Leaf bursts, not caring that she was interrupting. " _Him?!_ "

Gary looks up, finally noticing Leaf's presence. He raises an eyebrow, clearly more amused than confused. "Ah, talking about me again, Leafy?"

She scowls. "You wish. I'm just lamenting the fact that I have to work with _you_."

"Hold on-" Gary blinks. " _what_?"

"You just _had_ to walk through the door!" Leaf glares disapprovingly at the brunet, ignoring his confusion. Nat had always stuck to his word, but to literally put her on the _next_ convenient case…

"What's she yammering on about?" Gary looks to the commissioner, jerking a thumb towards her in the meanwhile. "I think she's inhaled one too many chemicals in that lab of hers."

Nathaniel merely smiles widely at the two of them. "I just think," the blond says none too innocently, "that it's about time that two of my top agents work together, don't you?"

Leaf and Gary both share a side glance before groaning in unison.

They hadn't realized it until now, but they both walked into this one.

* * *

 _Tajiri Prepatory School_

 _Aegis Force Briefing Room_

 _October 16, 2015, 12:40 EST_

"So what's the case?" Leaf inquires, tilting her head curiously at the folder in Gary's hand. She mentally salivates at the close proximity of her next field case. Her fingers reach to grab it.

Mew, if only she was able to contain her excitement a little better.

"Wait a minute." Gary abruptly pulls it out of her reach, holding it above her head.

Refusing to take his bait and humiliate herself, Leaf firmly plants her heels on the ground and crosses her arms.

To even try jumping for it was simply unfeasible. Her maximum vertical reach would only get her to Gary's forearm. Curse him for having long arms and for being so freaking tall.

The irritating teen continues, "First, we're going to need to set up some ground rules."

"And _why_ ," Leaf says, hazel eyes narrowing. "would we need to do _that_?"

"Because-" Gary ignores her glaring. "it's _my_ case."

He adds, "Also, Miss Rule Breaker, you're rusty at best."

"Okay, _first_ ," Leaf lists, sticking her fingers up in his face for emphasis. "it's _our_ case. Second, I do follow the rules! Admittedly, a little loosely, but only when the situation calls for it! Third, _what do you mean 'rusty'?!_ "

She isn't sure why, but there's just always been something about Gary Oak that's always pissed her off. Perhaps it was his over-confident attitude. Or maybe his flawless case record. Definitely his stupid, deep viridian eyes that were always examining her as if she was something of amusement to him. Oh, and the fact that he's almost inhumanely perfect, and he _knows_ it.

"I mean rusty, as in, impaired by lack of recent practice, below par, deficient, wea-"

"That was a rhetorical question, Mr. Thesaurus." She cuts him off, irked that he felt the need to actually answer her question and freaking define "rusty".

What kind of nimrod didn't know the word "rusty" by highschool?!

"Ah, yes." Gary reaches out to enclose her hand that's in his face with his own. "Also, you can't do this."

"D-do what?" Leaf yanks her hand away, scowling fiercely. "And don't _you_ ever do that again!"

Hopefully Gary didn't read the red anger in her face as something else...

Gary raises an eyebrow. "You're the one sticking your fingers in other people's faces."

It is pointless to say that she doesn't since she clearly just did to him, but Leaf doesn't want him to feel any satisfaction.

"And you're the one unnecessarily touching people," Leaf counters. "You could've just _politely_ asked me to remove my fingers from your personal space if it irked you so much."

"Anyway," she switches the subject, both to get back onto the task at hand and to get the last word, "fill me in on the case."

It's almost like she's flipped a switch in him or something. Immediately straightening, Gary shuffles through the files in the folder.

"Alright, try to stay with me on this, Green." He's referring to her by her last name, and she knows he's serious. "Sometime between the dismissal bell at 1500 hours yesterday and 0730 hours today when Tajiri Prep opened, someone stole the answer key to one of 's infamous literature tests. Mr. Fuwacchi discovered the theft at approximately 0730 hours and immediately alerted administration. At 0735 hours, Aegis operatives combed his office for evidence and were unable to find anything other than fragmented fingerprints on the upper right corner of the filing cabinet that the test was housed in."

"And did we get anything back on DNA tests?" Leaf asks, her shoulder brushing against his arm as she leans over to get a closer look at the crime scene photos. It looks like a real brain stumper to her. The thief clearly knew what he or she was doing. Hopefully whoever was in the lab at the time was capable enough to find something. Unfortunately, Leaf had math first period, so she wasn't available in the crime lab.

"No." Gary shakes his head decisively. "It was too fragmented to give us specifics. Besides, you know that the only fingerprints on file are those of past offenders and high-ranking student officials. None of which were a potential match, by the way."

"Alright, then what did the case profiler say about our suspect?" Leaf bites her lip, lifting her hazel eyes up from the files to find another angle to approach the case from.

"Hayden said that we're most likely looking at a student of Mr. Fuwacchi's who's desperate enough to steal the answers." Gary scoffs, "Some help _that_ was. But the student clearly knew where the answer key was and how to get in."

Realization immediately hits Leaf.

"Well," the brunette says with a grin. The thrill of her discovery almost makes her want to dance around the briefing room. "regardless, the thief _clearly_ didn't think things through. Mr. Fuwacchi knows that the answer key was stolen and will have to make a new one. So the thief is perhaps experienced with small crimes but not so much with matter of this magnitude."

"And if the thief needed the answer key to the previous test, he or she will probably need the new one too," Gary concludes.

He adds with a frown, "But he or she will most likely be more cautious now that we're onto him or her."

"So we have a stakeout." Leaf proposes.

"That's still not enough. We're more likely to come up with nothing if we go that way." He shakes his head. Thoughtfully, Gary drums his fingers on the table. "We'll need someone to infiltrate the Mr. Fuwacchi's Literature classes that would've been taking that test."

Looking through the school's course book and the shift list of the Aegis Force, Leaf sighs. "There's only one class that's taking that test: 8th period Classical Literature in room 250. But none of our sophomores are on shift."

"But you have a free period right now," Gary points out. "Not to mention, you're not a prominent Aegis Force member."

And as much as it stings to admit it, Gary's right. Of course one would garner a lot of public attention as an Aegis Force member, especially if you were one of its top agents. But, if you were like Leaf and pretty much chained to the lab, hardly anyone knew or saw you as an agent.

"Stop pouting," Gary suddenly pokes her in the cheek. He's switched back to the prick who loves getting on her nerves. "You're going to be a sophomore. Not a grade schooler."

"I'm _not_ pouting," Leaf grumbles. She pokes Gary back on the nose in retaliation. _Hard_.

Her partner looks amused as he teases, "Is this really how you're going to treat your upperclassman?"

"That's an odd statement," she retorts. "considering you're neither upper class nor a man."

"If you're seriously questioning the last part-" All of a sudden, Gary's voice sounds… _huskier_ than usual. Chills run down Leaf's spine at his lower tenor. She's now hyperaware of everything about him: his entrancing viridian eyes, the fresh smell of pine about him, his very wolfish smile, his close proximity… "-I'll be glad to show you just how much of a man I am."

It's not the first time that she's seen Gary flirt, but it's the first time it's been directed towards her. It makes her feel …. _strange_ , so Leaf responds in the only way she knows how.

"You can be sleazy another time with another girl," Leaf murmurs, moving away from him. Realizing she seems at least a _little_ affected, she adds, for a good measure, "You ignoramus."

* * *

 _Tajiri Prepatory School_

 _Outside Room 250_

 _October 16, 2015, 1:27 EST_

After sitting through most of 8th period in Mr. Fuwacchi's class and managing not to draw attention to herself (she's sitting at the end of the middle row, right by a poster about English participles; No one would look her way if they could help it), Leaf has managed to reach the enlightening conclusion that _going undercover was completely useless_.

There were no instances of suspicious behavior, and no one reacted too badly when Mr. Fuwacchi announced that his test had gone missing- not stolen, as that would be a tip off- and that the test would still be happening in two days, albeit with new questions.

"Well?" Gary presses, seemingly coming out of nowhere as she walks through the hallway to her next class.

"'Well' what?" Leaf puts her hands on her hips in order to distract him from the way that she jumped when he approached her.

And why _is_ he approaching her outside of the office? In no means should they be seen together, lest it somehow jeopardize the case. Couldn't he have just waited until afterschool?

In the next moment, Gary pins Leaf against the nearby lockers, his outstretched arms boxing her in.

"W-what are you-?!" Leaf starts, transitioning from alarm to annoyance. Her face flushes red, but she figures that any situation with close proximity would cause a person to redden. "Get off of me!"

"I love it when you sophomore girls play hard to get," Gary says loudly, reaching to twirl Leaf's chestnut locks around his fingers. Over his shoulder, Leaf can see some girls either giggling or glaring enviously at her due to the display.

He leans in closer, murmuring into her ear, "Kanto, 1500…smell ya later", before striding off in the opposite direction of her next class.

Leaf glares at his retreating back furiously before embarrassedly walking off. She's only blushing to go along with his little act. That's all.

She'll give him hell for it later though.

* * *

 _Tajiri Prepatory School_

 _Kanto Hall_

 _October 16, 2015, 3:10 EST_

"This is boring as hell," Leaf grumbles, folding her arms in a slightly petulant manner. Her eyes are still focused on watching for their target, but that doesn't mean she can't talk. "Watching Helium react with Neon is more interesting."

"If you're so bored," Gary says, not even bothering to look at her, "go ahead and return to your lab. I won't stop you from reuniting with your precious Noble Gases."

Though this shut Leaf right up, she still turns to glower at him.

She's not stupid. She knows that everything about a case isn't going to be jam packed with action ( _especially_ in the forensics lab), but _still_ , she doesn't recall a stakeout ever being _this_ dull. Nostalgia effect or not, her past stakeouts never took this long.

And Gary's so by the book that there's nothing she can do besides inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide without irritating him. If it wasn't for the fact that she'd be stuck in the forensics lab _forever_ if she didn't perform well, she'd have told that asinine git to quit acting so sanctimoniously or she'd jab something sharp up all three of his bodily orifi-

-wait, is he… _laughing…_ at _her_?

"You're most likely insulting me in your head with those fancy words of yours, aren't you?" Gary asks, his profile looking quite amused. When she scrunches her eyebrows further into a frown, he clarifies, "I can see you from my peripherals. Your body language and face are too easy to read."

"Not to mention," He adds, "I've had past experience with your extensive vocabulary."

If anything, that's on him. He manages to push buttons that she didn't even know she had. Take earlier, for instance. The memory of his breath in her ear causes her to flush before she manages to shake it away.

Gritting her teeth and mentally reminding herself to be professional, Leaf changes the subject. "What if they don't show today? There's still tomorrow."

"Then we come back again tomorrow," Gary answers simply.

They're sitting in the supply closet across from the Mr. Fuwacchi's office. The window on the door is tinted so that one can see out of the closet but not so easily in- this was done in case of an emergency situation in which a crazy gunman or something tries to mass-murder the students during school hours. It was administration's idea to tint all the windows so that the classrooms could be locked, and the students could successfully pretend that they weren't there by turning off the classroom lights.

As such, sitting in a dark supply closet, huddled next to Gary so she can see through the window puts Leaf in a _very_ socially awkward situation. Though unlikely, any of the janitors could walk in on them. And everyone knows what two teens usually use dark supply closets for…

 _[To be continued...]_

* * *

 **Okay, I'll admit the last part was very much troll-like of me, but I kinda kept going and going...I needed to cut this part off at some point, so I just decided to stop right there.**

 **Just a couple of things before I sign off: This is set in Leaf and Gary's Junior year of Tajiri Prepatory School- which I actually named after Pokemon creator Satoshi Tajiri. The time stamp thing was to help me in terms of time line, but I hope it also helped you guys a little. And I choose the date to be October 16, just as a nudge to ORS day (at least, that's what I heard was ORS day)**

 **Seriously, I know my crime sucked, and I tried to bring a highschool feel to it, but any suggestions or _constructive_ criticism is welcome. I also attempted to hint to the rivalry part of their relationship into this AU (though, like the game, it kinda seems one-sided- Rival in game is more enthusiastic, but Leaf takes that role this time). I think I might have made Gary a little bit like Green from the manga, but I did try to make him the arrogant (somewhat) flirt. Leaf wasn't too much of a concern for me (though I hope she didn't come off as pretentious!), but also let me know what you like- and don't like- about the AU!**

 **I'll continue this idea regardless, but, depending on how well it does with you guys, I might work on it again sooner.**

 **Please give me your comments, opinions, and suggestions!**


	2. Forget

**Alright, so, in case any of you need a refresher, this is an AU short collection that does not go in order. Based on popularity (or even my own preference), some AU's may be published more often. I've also decided to make these posts relatively shorter than the posts to my independent fics.**

 **Anyway, special thanks to** _Aoi, Leaffeather, Guest, EmeraldRhino, and Kazuya RandomAuthor_ **for reviewing the last chapter!**

 **Here's the summary of this next AU:**

 _Following an incident at the laboratory involving Ash's tauros, Gary sustains a head trauma. Though deemed temporary, Gary has amnesia and forgets one crucial fact regarding his relationship with childhood friend Leaf Green._

 **I was particularly inspired by the idea of amnesia affecting a relationship. However, unlike LeafxGreenx3's amazing fic _"Remember the Past",_ I've added my own twist to the idea.**

* * *

Over the course of the years, Professor Oak's Laboratory has accumulated a vast array of pokémon. Among which, are thirty tauros. They were known to stampede frequently, but, for the most part, nothing bad really came out of it.

At least, not until the accident, that is.

It had been a sunny day, and Gary had been observing some of the other pokémon for some thesis of his. Leaf had been nearby, caring for some of the pokémon- and, admittedly, looking at Gary every now and again.

No one's quite sure what caused this stampede, but, whatever the case, the thirty tauros had ended up causing a mass panic amongst the pokémon. While Leaf attempted to calm the pokémon down, Gary had leapt onto a nearby ponyta and took action. With a loud, piercing whistle to distract them, he attempted to head the stampede off, causing the tauros herd to turn into themselves and run in a large circle. While that _had_ worked, one of the Tauros in the front had head-butted the fire type pokémon, causing the ponyta to rear up.

Leaf could only watch in horror as her childhood friend's body hit the ground.

* * *

"Hey, Leaf?" Daisy's gentle voice breaks Leaf from her frantic thoughts as she's pacing back and forth in the white and sterile hallway. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

Despite the situation, Leaf allows for a small smile to grace her lips. She's always gotten along well with the older Oak girl. "Sure. Is here good?"

"No." the other girl shakes her head. "It's...it's something that needs to be said in private."

Though slightly confused as to what the news could be- besides, Gary's condition, of course- Leaf follows.

Once they're in an empty room and have the door closed behind them, Daisy exhales. All of a sudden, the gentle Oak looks tired and sad.

"The doctor's briefed Grandpa and me on Gary's condition-" Daisy starts.

Without thinking, Leaf cuts her off, "And how is he?!"

"The doctor says that he-he's going to be fine." Despite her statement, Daisy still seems upset. Leaf is confused until the other girl continues. "But Gary's trauma to the head has caused him to forget a couple of months."

Leaf's breath catches in her throat. "How many months exactly?"

Wincing slightly, Daisy answers, "I think maybe seven? We're not sure."

Before Leaf can so much as react to this piece of news, the Oak girl adds, "And the reason why I'm telling you this is because the doctor doesn't want us to contradict Gary's memories. Says that it could lead to permanent memory damage and that we should slowly help him remember on his own."

"I...I..." Leaf shakes her head, feeling entirely speechless. How could she pretend that their relationship hadn't changed six months ago?

"He's been asking for you," Daisy says softly, as if prompting Leaf from her state of shock. "I think maybe you should go see him."

* * *

When she enters the room, Gary immediately looks towards the doorway. Though he at first seems disoriented, his viridian eyes show recognition of his former childhood friend. His face lights up in a way that causes Leaf's heart to ache.

She wants to run out of the room, even at this point. To pretend that nothing had happened prior to the accident just makes her feel sick.

Leaf opens her mouth to say something- though she's not quite sure _what_ exactly- but Gary beats her to it.

"Hey Leafy." the spiky-haired brunet greets, a huge smile on his face. He motions for her to come closer to the hospital bed. Upon seeing her hesitation, Gary points to the bandages around his head. "I promise that it looks much worse than it actually feels."

 _Don't just stand there! You remember what Daisy said. Go over there!_ Leaf mentally chastises herself before putting a small smile on her face and walking over to him. She's barely at his side before he catches her off-guard by stealing a kiss.

She's not even the one to hit her head, and yet, she's the one who's way out of it.

"I didn't know I was that good of a kisser," He says teasingly when all Leaf does in response is blink rapidly.

Arceus, he acts just like he used to prior to his personality transformation. He always liked catching Leaf off-guard with his displays of affection.

She _cannot_ do this. She _can't._ She _can't. She just can't._

Not when Gary broke her heart almost six months ago. The wound had only recently started to heal, and she was only now able to act somewhat civilly with Gary whenever they were forced to interact with one another at the laboratory.

Without her realizing it, Leaf's eyes start to tear up.

"Leaf? Babe?" Gary's concerned voice cuts through her thoughts. "Are you okay?"

"… _the doctor doesn't want us to contradict Gary's memories. Says that it could lead to permanent memory damage…"_

"I-I'm fine." Leaf stammers, forcing her lips to resemble somewhat of a smile. "I-I just…I'm just…so relieved you're okay."

"Of course I'm okay." Gary says proudly. "I'm Gary freaking Oak."

Leaf remembers that lost look that Gary had on his face before she had shown up. She debates on calling him out on his bravado, but the dude is in the hospital. Not to mention, Leaf had never really called Gary out back when they were together.

While Leaf contemplates on how to respond, Gary's expression softens. He adds, "I'm better than okay now that you're here."

 _That smile just isn't fair._

* * *

"Woah, wait," Dawn Berlitz gasps after being updated on her friend's current predicament. " _Gary forgot that you two aren't together anymore_?!"

With a rather depressed nod, Leaf slumps down further into her chair. She had been lucky to get away with not really talking much- she attributed it to her distress at seeing him in the hospital (which was true anyway), but, in all honesty, she had never been much of a talker when it came to them.

Misty Waterflower gives her a sympathetic smile. "I'm sorry, Leaf. I know how much you don't want to spend time with him."

May Maple harrumphs, "I'll say! He's nothing but a cold-hearted jerkface!"

When Gary had broken off their one year relationship, Leaf had slipped into a sort of mini-depression. It had taken her a month to finally open up to her friends and another five to become a relatively new person. May _couldn't_ and _wouldn't_ let the other brunette regress back because of Gary.

While Leaf merely stares down at the iced tea in her hand, Misty gives May an admonishing look. Mentioning Gary in such a callous way probably wasn't helping their friend deal with her emotional turmoil.

"Maybe this is fate giving you a second chance," Dawn ventures after a moment of silence. She's always adored those chick flicks where the main guy forgets his girl- after all, it's so beautiful to watch him fall for her all over again!- but this cheesy plot clearly didn't apply to Leaf.

"To what?" Leaf sighs. "To get my heart broken again?"

"Oooh!" May suddenly squirms in excitement. "Wait, he's still at that point where he's _madly_ in love with you, right? Give that fool hell!"

"Or," Misty inputs reasonably, "you could try to gauge what went wrong last time. Gary never really told you why he wanted to break up with you, remember? This is a chance for closure."

"Misty, the only person who actually knows the real reason for our split is Gary-" Leaf's hazel eyes wander out the café window. On the outside, she's still the put-together Leaf. On the inside? She feels just as insecure as she did in the beginning and end of her relationship with Gary. "-who, like May says, is at the point where he wouldn't even think of dumping me."

"Then that's why you should dump him!" May's fist hits her palm. "Give him a taste of his own medicine! When he _does_ get his memory back, wouldn't it be awkward for him to realize that his ex had to play along with his amnesia?"

"No!" Dawn looks horrified. "If anything, the emotional turmoil might set back his recovery! She can't do that to Gary!"

May scowls. Misty and Dawn still individually hung out with Gary- albeit, with much more of an emotional distance- but May blatantly iced him whenever Drew dragged her to a hangout with him. "He'd probably do that to her. You may still be fooled by his mask of evil, but I know better!"

"Gary's changed. I've changed." Leaf says suddenly. "And even though Gary's now right back where he started, that doesn't mean I have to be."

May's scowl softens into a smile.

 _Independent Leaf is here to stay._

"So what does that mean?" Misty asks. Dawn and May both echo her question.

Leaf exhales, having finally reached a conclusion to the stance she'll be taking throughout this issue. "Gary'll just have to get used to his _new_ old girlfriend until his memory recovers. Until then, I'll do what I should've done in the first place when he broke up with me…"

* * *

 **Alright, hopefully my twist was somewhat surprising to you guys. I've always kind of tried to do things that other writers haven't done yet concerning ORS/LGS, so I'm really excited to be posting this AU. I also know that May might seem a little OOC, but I personally feel like she's a very loyal and fiery friend. Like you might feel towards your best friend's ex who broke his/her heart, May dislikes Gary because of how he made Leaf feel. Unlike Dawn and Misty (who also have more interactions with him), May didn't know Gary too well from the start, and it doesn't help that she's kind of ruled by emotion.**

 **Anyway, I know the ending was a bit of a cliffhanger, but hopefully it'll get you guys interested and curious! What's Leaf intending to do? Is she going to take revenge like May suggested or will she try to get answers? What's actually going to happen with her and Gary? And what about their past together?**

 **Please give me your comments, opinions, and suggestions!**


	3. The Perfect (Fake) Boyfriend

**Merry Christmas, guys! Alright, so I see that some have you have already responded positively to the previous two chapters (which makes me really happy), but I honestly didn't want to give the impression of an alternating AU chapter system, so I wanted to put something entirely different out first. Hence, _The Perfect (Fake) Boyfriend_ series. **

**This is basically the backstory/set-up, but hopefully it's still semi-pleasant to read.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon.**

 _ **Prompt:** Leaf needs a boyfriend, and fast._

* * *

In retrospect, Leaf was bound to end up in her situation. After all, she was in an all-girls private boarding school for a great part of her life. _Of course_ she wouldn't be able to interact with guys well enough to actually attract a decent guy.

The thing is, though, that Leaf hadn't minded _at all_ that her interaction with guys was basically nonexistent. She liked hanging out with her friends without worrying about guy troubles- or, at least, direct guy troubles. Her roommate Marina had a pen pal boyfriend that she'd talk about a lot, but Leaf could always tune her out if she wanted to.

There were no guys to make her feel self-conscious about her outfit or behavior during class. She felt comfortable just being able to roll out of bed, putting on her uniform, and then going to class.

Unfortunately, her mom, who had once championed Leaf's all-girl education, was now siding with her "father" to take her out of Brighthart Academy for Ladies and put her into Kajo-Hosin High School. Part of the reason had been so that Leaf could come home and bond with the family, but the apparent main reason had been that Leaf had no normal interactions with the other gender, which is "worrisome for a young woman her age".

Marina, her roommate, had joked to Leaf one night that maybe a boyfriend was all Leaf needed to get her mom back on her side.

Leaf, however, had taken that joke to heart.

So now, here she was, browsing the Kajo-Hosin High School website and social media pages for the perfect guy to hire as her boyfriend. Anybody 'in a relationship' or seemingly on their way was left out of the prospective boyfriend list.

But how to approach one of them online? She couldn't very well say _"Hi, I'm Leaf. I'm going to transfer to your school before spring, but I don't want to. Can you please be my fake boyfriend so my mom will let me stay at my current school? I'll pay you money."_

Hmm….maybe: " _Hi, I'm Leaf Green. I'm looking for a guy willing to pretend to be my boyfriend (no questions asked) for cash."_

Wait a minute, what is she doing? This is insane. There's no way she'll be able to pull this off, especially if there's not a single guy out there who-

Leaf pauses that thought, her mouse hovering over the picture of the sure-to-be perfect guy for her to hire.

 _Drew Hayden_.

* * *

It turns out that, while Drew was a proud member of the Kojo-Hosin theatre department, he also had an almost girlfriend who he flirted with off the internet. He wasn't willing to jeopardize his almost-relationship by pretending to be some other girl's boyfriend over Christmas break.

It was a shame, really, since he seemed to be the kind of guy that her mother would _hate_ for her to be with. The plan was to have a seemingly great boyfriend, only for her mother (and "father" she supposed) to realize how terrible the relationship is. They'd be horrified at Leaf's potential future of terrible boyfriends, sending her back to Brighthart and waiting for her to "mature" before letting her out.

She needed a "reformed" player type of guy- preferably also with "no direction in life". A guy who exuded sheer arrogance and narcissism. She could always hire one of the bone-headed jocks, but she had a feeling that they'd screw up the job…

Luckily for her, she didn't have to look that much farther.

* * *

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Hey, do you still need someone for that job?_

 _Leaf Me Alone : Yeah. Did you change your mind?_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : No but I have a friend._

 _Leaf Me Alone : ? ? ? _

_ Leaf Me Alone: Good for you?_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : …_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : You don't get out much, do you?_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Your username alone tells me that much._

 _Leaf Me Alone : My username is meant to repel people like you._

 _Leaf Me Alone : Goodbye._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Wait_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : My friend is in need of cash and is willing to spend time with a lovely woman such as yourself in order to obtain said money._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : …you ARE hot right? It's hard to tell when your avatar pic is a plushie and all the photos in your album are of scenery or other people._

 _Leaf Me Alone :…_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Sorry. _

_**The**_ _Drew Hayden : Just want to make sure I'm not setting my friend up with a psycho. He'd kill me._

 _Leaf Me Alone : Being physically attractive doesn't mean that there's no underlying psychotic behavior._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : So…_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Hot or nah?_

 _Leaf Me Alone : How about 'nah'._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Seriously?_

 _Leaf Me Alone : I don't put much stock into beauty._

 _Leaf Me Alone : Look, does your friend want this job or not?_

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Alright, alright. He does._

 _Leaf Me Alone : Ok. Give me his name and details, and I'll PM him myself._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : …the lame-brain took down his pokétech page last month so you'll have to email him._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : TheGreatOak_

 ** _The_** _Drew Hayden_ _: -_-_ _pokétech won't let me put the full email. But it's at pallettown dot org._

 _ **The**_ _Drew Hayden : Call him Gare-bear- he really loves that._

 _Leaf Me Alone :…_

 _Leaf Me Alone : He already sounds like he'll be the perfect fake boyfriend._

* * *

 **That's the basic premise of _The Perfect (Fake) Boyfriend_ , but hopefully this chapter interested y'all a bit.**

 **Fun facts:**

 **I had this idea in my head even earlier than _Midsummer Nightmare_ , but I didn't really write anything down for it until right before I posted this.**

 **Fanfiction legitimately wouldn't let me write Gary's email address or put a bunch of question marks in a row. A little lesson for you guys if you didn't know this and want to put a bunch of question marks together.**

 **Leaf being in an all-girls schools is modeled after my friend who has gone to one since middle-school; however, unlike Leaf, she is able to communicate with guys.**

 **Please give me your comments, opinions, and suggestions!**


	4. The Perfect (Fake) Boyfriend: Homecoming

**Hi! Know it's been awhile, but hopefully not too long. Anyway, I've been kinda spreading myself out over various fics- both ORS and non-ORS- but this is the first one that I felt was adequate enough to post.**

 **It's probably because this idea has been simmering in the backburner of my mind for awhile that I'm both ready and eager to get this out to you guys. So, without further ado, here's the next mini-chapter of the _Perfect (Fake) Boyfriend AU_!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon and have already stated that this an AU. Keep up.**

* * *

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: You got the last email I sent you, right?_

 _TheGreatOak_ _: For the thirtieth time, YES._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: I just can't afford for there to be any discrepancies in our story. Let's walk through it anyway._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: …_

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Alright, so we met last year when I came home for winter break._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: You didn't know anybody else so you were sitting by yourself in the diner one day. I noticed you immediately but didn't leave my group of friends to approach you._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Right._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: An hour or two later, I saw you outside the diner looking a bit lost. You were looking for the library that had been relocated while you were away._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: I knew an opportunity when I saw one, so I approached you and asked if I could help you with anything. I then showed you to the library. After that I asked you out._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Yes, and…?_

 _TheGreatOak_ _: You flat out rejected me and guessed that I was a player._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: But I kept at it and returned to the library numerous times just to talk to you. Eventually, I won you over with my wit and charm ;)_

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _:..._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Forgive me, your charm doesn't seem to be translating well through a computer screen._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: I'll have you know, people find me appealing._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: I'm sure -_-'_

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: but I also need you to be, like, low-key disgusting._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: ?_

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Be a person who my parents will ultimately NOT want me to be with._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: May I ask why…?_

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Did Drew not tell you anything? This job is no questions asked._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: Alright, alright._

 _TheGreatOak_ _: Anyway, mind sending me a pic of yourself? If I'm supposed to be meeting you at the airport, it'll probably be helpful if I know what you look like…_

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: True. Alright, we'll exchange pics of each other._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Also…don't be surprised if I suddenly give you physical displays of affection_

 _TheGreatOak_ _: Won't be more surprised than when I first heard of this job._

 _Leaf Me Alone_ _: Good. See you then, GARE-BEAR 3_

* * *

 ** _Kanto Region Airport_**

 ** _Gate AE16_**

 ** _December 16, 2015 11:44 EST_**

Sighing to herself, sixteen-year old Leaf Green mentally prepares herself for the performance of a lifetime. Not intending to stay for long, she had only brought a carry-on, and, thus, has no need to go find her luggage in the carousel.

Instead, she has to focus on locating her fake boyfriend before going to look for the welcome party that her mom had been sure to gather.

Unfortunately, things do not go to plan, and Leaf finds herself being nearly squeezed to death by her mother after only a few steps. Her biological father stands a mere foot away, looking slightly uncomfortable given the icy look his daughter shoots over his wife's shoulder.

"Leaf, I'm so glad that you're here!" Mrs. Green beams after finally releasing her daughter.

Besides her husband, Mrs. Green is also joined by a motherly-looking brunette, a smiling raven-haired teen Leaf's age, an old scholarly-looking man, and another brunette that looks to be only slightly older than Leaf.

Leaf has no idea what to do in the face of these strangers, but she nods respectfully at each one of them as they introduce themselves. She may have not had any intentions to stay here, but that didn't mean she had to be entirely rude.

As if not satisfied by Leaf's rather reserved greeting of her welcome party, Mrs. Green nudges the raven-haired boy forward. "Leaf, honey, this is Ash."

Leaf blinks, unsure of whether this is supposed to be of significance to her. Her mother acts as if she's supposed to know him already from the first introduction. "…hi?"

Ash smiles at her. "Hey, Leaf."

When there is nothing but silence following the greeting, Mrs. Green sighs in exasperation. "Leaf, honey, I don't know how much you remember, but Ash used to be one of your childhood playmates. You used to play together all the time!"

This merits no response from Leaf, who, rather than engaging herself in the present conversation, is looking around almost frantically for her 'boyfriend'.

She had told him her arrival time, hadn't she?!

Seeing her daughter's disinterest and attempting to draw her back in, Mrs. Green continues, "There's another one of your childhood friends I'll re-introduce you to, but you won't be seeing him until later."

Seeing this as an opening, the slightly older girl- Daisy?- speaks up. "Sorry about that. He apparently has to go see somebody." She huffs, as if a little annoyed about not knowing anything. "He wouldn't even give any more details than that.'

"Sounds like a secret girlfriend," Delia Ketchum giggles. Her son looks at her incredulously.

"Oh?" Mrs. Green raises an eyebrow. "I always feel like they're too young for these things. It feels like just yesterday they were little kids, playing in the-"

At that moment, Leaf abruptly lets go of her small suitcase, leaving it to topple over onto the ground without her support. She's practically flying as her legs carry quickly towards an approaching figure. She had only seen him for a brief second before recognizing his spiky brown hair from the picture he had sent.

Leaf launches herself at him, and Gary, though thoroughly surprised, manages to catch and spin her around. She laughs gleefully as he does so, and he smiles gently up at her. To everyone else in the airport, they look every bit like the happy couple reuniting for the first time in a while.

As soon as the tip of her toes return to the ground, Leaf launches her next plan of attack: she kisses Gary on the lips. Luckily, Gary remembers her earlier warning and pulls her closer to him. When they separate, Gary has a slightly dazed expression on his face. Taking advantage of this, Leaf presses her forehead to his and rubs her nose against his repeatedly.

Her intention was to shower affection onto Gary until her mother intervened. Though she had not anticipated meeting Gary _after_ her parents, it was a good for a shock factor. As it'd turn out, her impromptu display probably nailed her point more than merely showing up with him would have.

"Leaf?" Her mother's incredulous tone manages to 'drag' her out of her 'love-induced stupor'.

"Oh!" Leaf smiles brightly, a stark contrast to her rather reserved expression from a couple of minutes ago. She attempts to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear. All that spinning around probably made it look wild. Thankfully, Gary tucks the strand of hair behind her ear for her. "Mom, this is my boyfriend, G-"

"Gary?!" Ash interjects, chocolate brown eyes widening in shock. "I thought you were going to go see your girl?"

"Leaf's my girlfriend, Ashy Boy," Gary sighs in exasperation, pulling the brunette closer to him for emphasis.

Daisy merely looks at the two, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Ah." Mrs. Green, clearly taken off-guard, smiles hesitantly. "And here I thought I'd have to re-introduce you to one another at your welcoming party."

Leaf blinks. "Re…re-introduce?"

"That's right." Mrs. Green nods. "Gary was the one I mentioned earlier. You and Gary are childhood playmates too."

 _Crap._

"You, Ash, and Gary were practically inseparable as children," Professor Oak recollects. "It helped that we all lived on the same street."

 _Double crap. How the hell did she NOT know this?!_

Deciding to treat this as nonchalantly as possible, Leaf turns to Gary. "Aww…do you think it's likely we ever played house together?"

Gary laughs. "Possibly. Ash was probably our dog."

Ash opens his mouth to protest, but Leaf manages to beat him to it. Giggling, Leaf hits him lightly on the shoulder. "Gare-Bear, that's not nice."

" _Gare-Bear?!_ " Ash's jaw drops open in disbelief. "You actually call him that, and _he lets you_?!"

At the same time that Leaf says "Why not?", Gary firmly states, "Leafy's special to me."

"Awww, Gare-Bear," Leaf coos, turning to face him and pressing herself against his firm and muscular chest. _Oooo boy_. "You're even more special to me."

"Now that can't be true," Gary shoots back. He softly caresses her cheek. "I've been thinking about only you for the past week."

Leaf swoons under his touch. "You're all I think about too!"

Deciding that over-the-top PDA is now their thing, Leaf gently puts her own hands on his cheeks and pulls him closer so that she can keep rubbing their noses together.

"Now, now" Leaf's mom laughs nervously. "Break it up, you two."

Leaf pouts almost theatrically as Gary sheepishly picks up Leaf's suitcase.

"It's alright, Leafy." Gary grabs her hand with his free one, rubbing small comforting circles into her skin. It actually feels nice- especially knowing that she has someone on her side here. "We have plenty of time to be together. Like later today," he hints.

"We have forever actually." Leaf lightly taps him on the nose. "But I can't wait to see what you have planned for our date later!"

What they'll really be doing is reconvening and determining the next phase in their plan, but Leaf _has_ left the location up to Gary…

"Leaf, honey," her mother interrupts once more. "You have your welcome home party, remember?"

"I'm not going to be there the whole time, am I?" the brunette responds, a look of horror on her face. She clings on to Gary's arm.

Mrs. Green opens her mouth to reply when Daisy, Gary's sister, beats her to it.

"Gary, you can't honestly be thinking of stealing this girl away from her own party, can you?" Though her tone is teasing, Leaf sees a look of underlying suspicion in her eyes.

Whoever Gary normally is around these people, it seems that it is entirely out of character for him to be _this_ in love.

Leaf decides to closely examine the reactions of her welcoming party in order to gauge who much they may have been over-acting.

"I'd do _anything_ to be with her." Gary says earnestly. Ash visibly gags, and Professor seems amused and a bit…proud. "Lena- can I call you Lena?- look our date won't take _too_ long. I'm sure she and I can appreciate each other more than the other people at her party will…"

Oooh, she did a good job in hiring him. His casual manner should've caused him to get on her mom's bad side. Her mom always did think that calling an adult by their first name was rude.

Her mom blinks. Once. Twice.

Then she gives the tiniest smile. "Well, we'll see."

She turns then, directing the welcoming party and the conversation to somewhere else other than the two teens shockingly in a relationship with one another.

* * *

 **Originally there was more, but I felt that that would be dragging on the scene for too long. Hopefully you like this AU, but, if not- or if you prefer another AU- please let me know via review or pm! I'm welcome to any and all constructive suggestions or critique!**


	5. Color-Mates

**Prompt: Everyone is born unable to see color. It is only when they first lock eyes with their soulmate that their world splashes with color. However, if their soulmate dies, they permanently lose the ability to see color.**

* * *

Gary Oak hadn't always been an oddity in the community. He used to be like the others his age, unable to see the world around him in color until he was to meet his soulmate.

It would've been uncommon, but not entirely odd if he was able to see the world in full colors at the age of eight.

As it is, however, _even ten years later_ , Gary is only able to see the color blue and its various shades.

His grandfather Samuel Oak, a world-renowned researcher, can't understand his situation, though not for lack of trying. As far as Samuel Oak and the rest of their small community of Pallet Town know, Gary is the only human being in the whole world to see in partial color.

* * *

Like all eager eight year olds, Gary hadn't realized the significance of discovering he could see the color 'blue'. _Only_ the color 'blue'.

Thinking that he had located his soulmate, he had eagerly stayed put where he was and continued to look around in an attempt to find his soulmate.

Samuel Oak found him four hours later, still at the community activities center.

Daisy had boxed his ears in afterwards, chiding her younger brother for scaring the Ho Oh out of her.

To defend himself, Gary loudly and excitedly proclaimed that he had found his soulmate. That he was able to see the color 'blue' that had been one of the many colors described to him at school.

His photographic memory ensures that he'll forever remember the look of shock and horror on both his sister's and grandfather's face when they realize that he can only see blue.

* * *

At the age of eighteen, Gary has the world at his feet. He's quickly shot himself into his grandfather's atmosphere of renown in the science world, and he's easily _the_ youngest and brightest mind of the world.

And, much to Grandmama Aggie's pleasure, he takes after his grandfather in looks too- now that he's of legal age, Gary has been promoted from a teen heartthrob to one of the world's most eligible bachelors.

He has it all, it seems. Except for his soulmate who he has titled 'Blue' and who is all Gary had ever truly wanted when he was younger.

 _(He'll be hard-pressed to admit it, but he wants for himself what his parents had. He wants that partner who will understand him better than he does, who will know what he's trying to say with just a look or a touch.)_

He's almost long-given up on the idea of uniting with his soulmate until his dense best friend smacks him upside the head.

"What the freakin' Zapdos," Gary growls, turning from the computer screen to glare at the raven-haired male sporting a shit-eating grin. "You can't just say 'hi'?"

Ash Ketchum, a world renowned explorer, hops up onto one of Gary's co-workers' desks. "You know," he drawls, "for someone boasting one of the 'brightest minds of the new generation', you're pretty dumb."

"This coming from you, Ashy Boy?" Gary snorts.

Ash had met his soulmate at the age of ten when she fished him out of a river. Like the idiot he was, he stole her bike and left her stranded in the Viridian Forest. Fate must've been ready for Ash to screw up, however, as the already directionally challenged Ash grew confused and disoriented by the new world of color and wound up back where he had started.

Misty Waterflower, though tempted to beat the Ho Oh out of the bike thief, realized her lot lay with him and merely fived him across the face.

"Hey, but I'm dummy with a soulmate, aren't I?" Ash shoots back, swinging his feet back and forth against the drawers of the desk. He backtracks almost immediately, knowing that he had touched on a sore subject. "Look, you have that really weird memory of yours, right? Don't you remember that day?"

"Of course I do," Gary snaps, a little testy after Ash's comment. "I realized a couple years back that I must have seen my soulmate's picture on the activity board. My issue is that I just don't know _which_ kid Blue is."

When more knowledge had been discovered in regards to soulmates, Gary had eagerly tracked down as many of the kids in the group pictures of the activity board as he could. He met with boys and girls alike, even the older supervisors (because honestly, love had no bounds; though Daisy was certainly relieved when the coaches had either already found their soulmates or were simply unable to inspire the rest of the colors in her brother).

"Blue's eyes don't have to necessarily be blue." Ash lays flat across the desk, knocking some piles of paper down. Gary glares at him. "I mean, Mist's eye color was the first color I saw, but she saw red."

"Ash, you make _everybody_ see red."

"She was referring to my hat!" Ash protests. "I'm 'a lovable dense moron'!...who stole her bike...yeah..."

"All you're bothering me for is to state what I already know." Gary turns back to his research, not willing to think any more about Blue. At least not for today. "We already know that the first color is associated with a color on your soulmate's person."

"It's their soul color," Ash corrects, pulling himself back up to sit criss-cross on the desk. "I believe that the first color you see is the color of your soulmate's _soul,_ their base aura."

This grabs Gary's attention. He turns his chair once more, his eyebrow raised. "Go on."

"Eyes are the window to the soul, right? That's why a lot of times, the eye color is the same as the first color, but _not always_."

"Okay, so what does that mean for me?" Gary is still not getting Ash's point. So Gary should expand his search to more than just those who had either blue eyes or blue clothing?

"You were trying to look for your soulmate in a rational manner." Ash places his hands on his knees, pushing himself forward. "Soulmates don't make sense. Not to us."

"I mean," Ash adds, " _you_ were able to partially realize your soulmate through Blue's picture. Most people would only be able to meet their soulmate through actual eye contact."

"So what-" Gary squinches his eyes shut, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. It's not everyday that Ash knows something that Gary doesn't. "-I just go back and look at all of the pictures and-and try to _feel_ who Blue is?"

"Bingo." Ash grins, putting his index finger on his nose. "Let's go find your Cinderella, Prince Charming."

* * *

Though a part of him thinks this idea is stupid, Gary is pretty much desperate at this point to locate Blue. He doesn't want to be one of those unfortunate few who are never able to find their soulmate.

As a result, Gary is now staring back at the same activity board that he had been looking at ten years ago. Ash has cleared the board of all of the current pictures, putting up the pictures that the Oaks had long secured in their place.

Once he's done, he grins. "Who's your best friend?"

"That picture should be to the left of that one," Gary says abruptly instead, picking up the photo to rearrange it himself. After making sure that the picture arrangement matches the one from his memory of that fateful day, Gary steps back so he can see the board as a whole.

Ash stands quietly to the side, mentally cheering his childhood best friend on.

After a silent minute, Gary's index finger extends to point out a small brunette girl. "There. Her."

"That's great!" Ash says excitedly, looking at where Gary has indicated. He looks to his friend to see if he shares the same excitement.

Gary's facial expression is flat.

"Yeah, it would be, Ash." The spiky-haired brunet sounds tired. "If she hadn't been the first one I tried to hunt down."

"Tried to?" Ash, in a moment of hyper-perception, picks up on Gary's words.

"The activities center has no information on her, like she was never here."

* * *

As Gary walks back to the laboratory, he considers the possible solutions to his new problem.

Run a search on the supercomputer on all the girls who lived in Pallet Town at the time? No, that might be too difficult to carry out- not to mention, he'd have to go through several channels of authority to have access to it.

Upload the picture of her and post it online in the hopes of finding her? Hmm...maybe not- in doing so, he could potentially expose himself as a soulmate rarity, not to mention, there were some crazy fangirls who could take it upon themselves to pose as her...

Immersed in his thoughts, Gary almost doesn't notice the sole desk light on in the darkened lab. He squints a bit more, and he realizes that there is a person shifting through the papers on the desk.

 _That's strange._

When he had gone through security earlier, all of his coworkers had already signed out.

He creeps closer, making sure to be as quiet as possible. The shadow cast by the desk light doesn't give him a clue about whether he'd be able to take this person, but Gary nonetheless has the utmost confidence that he can deal with this intruder without involving Ed the nightguard.

It's not until he's touching the wall of the cubicle that Gary belatedly realizes that this is his own desk. Well, his official one at least. The sign on the cubicle said 'Gary Oak', but he had found the square space allotted to him to be too stifling; as a result, his grandfather had unofficially given him a larger workspace in the basement for research.

That doesn't lessen the indignation that overtakes him as he realizes that this intruder is trying to steal from _him-_ Gary _freaking_ Oak.

"A little late for some reading, don't you think?" He clamps his hand down on the trespasser's left shoulder, one of the two slivers of lighter grey that he can make out from the otherwise black figure.

His icy tone startles the interloper. Gary feels his hand getting scrunched between their shoulder and neck before he gets punched in his left eye.

He momentarily reels back and is ready to use the momentum in the opposite direction for a headbutt, when he hears a shocked and very feminine voice curse.

"Arceus, you surprised me!" He feels her soft and cool hands gently touch his left hand that he must've instinctively used to cover his eye.

"My apologies," Gary says dryly. Through his one good eye and with the desk light, he can make out... _night-vision goggles?_ Whoever this is, she isn't playing around. "Should've somehow warned the intruder with night-vision goggles that I was heading back to my cubicle."

She ignores his sarcastic comment, focusing on prying his hand away from his eye. "Let me see, you big baby. I don't punch _that_ hard, do I?"

"Tell that to my black eye tomorrow through pri-"

"Now, now," she laughs, having successfully pried his hand away from his eye. "It's not like this is how I _wanted_ us to meet."

"Let me get this straight," Gary says in disbelief, "you broke into the _high-security lab late at night_...just to _meet_ me?!"

"Trust me, I had to come here-" At this, she rips away the goggles. "-or we'd both keep waiting."

Now that the night-vision goggles no longer obscure the upper half of her face, he can see her pretty hazel eyes blinking coyly up at him.

 _...Well, shit._

* * *

 **I personally liked the ending to this one :) Hahaha, much like my past posts to this story, this one will obviously be continued, though when depends on how strongly this AU takes to my mind and/or how much you guys like this one.**

 **Please let me know your thoughts- either through reviews or PM- on this AU or the AU's overall! It'd be much appreciated.**


	6. Color-Mates: She Blue Him Away

**I know, I know, it's been awhile since I've been on FFN. School has been super busy for me, and I've had to spend the beginning part of my holiday _sick_ on top of all things. I'm hoping that now that I'm better, I'll be able to update to a lot of my stories. At least, that's my 2017 resolution.**

 **This is a continuation of last chapter's _Color Mates_ , ****just because I myself was curious as to where this universe would go. If there is any universe you're particularly interested in (whether in past chapters or just a prompt that you want me to try to tackle), let me know via PM or review!**

* * *

" _Daise, do you think I'll ever find Blue?"_

 _A young boy looks up at his elder sister, his viridian eyes upset yet curious to hear the answer._

 _It has been nearly a year since he's started to see the color blue and all its shades, but now he's afraid that he'll_ _ **never**_ _be able to see the world in all its color._

 _Daisy hesitates for a moment, wanting to reassure him but not entirely certain that it'd help. For better or for worse, he had a photographic memory that'd help him remember whatever she said. After all, he still brings up her stealing his share of Grandma Aggie's home-made fudge from when he was five._

 _It also meant that he remembered in vivid detail the night of their parents' deaths._

 _Daisy sighs. The last thing Gary needed was to feel like he was alone. She smiles as widely as she can as she turns around to face him._

" _Aww, Gare, you just need to be patient," Daisy coos, ruffling her little brother's spiky hair. "You'll find Blue, I just know it! This just means that your bond and your soul mate is even more special."_

" _And-" Daisy's voice catches in her throat, but she continues anyway, "-even if I'm somehow wrong, just remember: you'll never be alone. You'll always love and be loved."_

 _Gary is quiet, looking at her with an insightful expression on his face. Then, to Daisy's relief, her brother grins boyishly. "Yeah! Besides, you're fourteen, and you haven't even come close to finding your soul mate!"_

 _She noogies her brother afterward, pretending she's offended- but really, she's just happy she can guard Gary from reality for just a bit longer._

* * *

As Gary's sitting in his desk chair and Blue's flitting about him trying to reduce the potential bruising, he can't help but think that Daisy was right about his soul mate being special.

Her right hook is really something at least.

"I think I might've seen an ice pack in the break room refrigerator," Blue hums thoughtfully, suddenly pausing in her frenzy to think calmly. She grabs her night-vision goggles from the desk. "Stay here while I get it, okay?"

It isn't until after she's left and come back with the ice pack that it occurs to him that she could've possibly used the opportunity to leave. She'd gotten her colors and, if she left then, she'd be able to avoid any possible punishment for breaking into Oak Laboratory.

He tells her as much while she's gently pressing the pack against his left eye. His own hand takes over, causing Blue to let her hands fall idly at her sides. He doesn't see it with an ice pack over his eye, but Blue's facial expression briefly falters.

She laughs. "True! Huh, wonder why I didn't think of that."

When Gary doesn't respond, Blue says somberly, "I wouldn't actually do that, you know. I didn't come here just for my colors."

"Why _did_ you come here actually?" Gary asks, narrowing his right eye at her. "It didn't occur to you that you could've just as easily bumped into me on the street?"

Blue snorts as she hops up onto his desk, swinging one leg over the other. "Please, I knew just from looking at you that you were going to be all work, no play. Your workplace was where I'd be most likely to find you."

"Not to mention," she adds after a pause, "I'm pretty sure that if I showed up at your house claiming to be your soul mate, I'd be labeled as a crazy fangirl and get turned away."

Rather reluctantly Gary would admit she has a point. But he's still not going to let this go.

He forgoes icing his eye to cross his arms. "So your plan was to have me catch you sifting through my stuff?"

His soul mate doesn't even look embarrassed. "Oh no, that was me looking through your stuff to get a better idea of what kind of person you are. Plus, I was kind of planning on taking one of your visitor passes and coming to the lab. You know, the legal way."

"Just imagine it-" Blue leans forward girlishly. "you're on one of your very rare trips to the break room, walking so quickly and purposefully that you don't notice the beautiful brunette rounding the corner. Then _bam!_ you two collide- with bonus points if she's carrying a stack of papers that go in every direction."

Gary raises an eyebrow at his soul mate's fantasy but doesn't interrupt. He hasn't known her for long, but he can already tell that it's best to just let her rattle on. Besides, she almost looks like a _normal_ girl with those stars in her eyes.

"And then even though you don't want to waste time, you're a gentleman so you help her pick up every sheet. You're about to hand her the papers you've collected when she suddenly looks up at you-" At this, Blue flutters her eyelashes at him coquettishly. She dreamily continues, "-and now your monotonous world is filled with more than one color-"

Gary can't resist and interrupts her. "Wait, how do you know that I could see a singular color?"

Blue freezes momentarily, clearly taken off guard. "Wha-what do you mean? I just said that since I could see one color."

Before Gary can pursue the subject, Blue shifts the conversation. "Speaking of which, what color clue did I leave you with? How long have you been able to see that color?"

"Blue and since I was eight," Gary answers flatly before attempting to ask her the same. "What abou-"

Blue cuts him off, cutely wrinkling her nose. "You've had ten years to find me, Gary. Geez, what took you so long?"

"Surprisingly, you're a very difficult person to find," Gary drawls. "There's only so much a person can do with an old photo to find their soul mate."

"Oooo, what picture?" Blue jumps off his desk and quickly fishes Gary's wallet from his pocket.

Gary, somewhat shocked at the ease with which she was able to pickpocket him, merely watches as she retrieves the smaller group pictures of that activity board. She goes through his small collection of photos, haphazardly discarding the group pictures lacking her as she goes along.

When she at last finds what she's looking for, she beams. "Oh man, I forgot what a cutie I was back then!"

"...I have no words." Gary leans back in the swivel chair, pushing the ice pack harder against his eye and wondering how life ended up this way.

Honestly, Blue is nothing like he imagined. He had always thought that she'd be a quiet, subtle presence- not an obnoxious chatterbox with no regard for the rules.

"Aww, come on, you're not going to agree with me?" Blue bends down so that her face is right next to his, pouting all the while.

Gary pointedly ignores her.

"Well, when I first saw you, I thought, 'Bing! Cute guy in sight!'" She laughs. "Imagine how delightfully surprised I was to find out that you were my soulmate!"

Blue quickly sobers. "But then it occurred to me that maybe you didn't know I was out there... After all, we've never crossed paths before- even when we lived in the same town. I just knew I had to come see you myself."

"Well, you've done that. So now what?" Gary couldn't help but voice the thought that's been running through his head since discovering that this girl is his soul mate. "Where do we go from here?"

Blue hums thoughtfully. "You know, I guess I never really thought of that. I just figured we would click instantaneously as soul mates." She sticks out her tongue at him playfully. "But really, your first impression's not the best, Gary."

"Really?" Gary raises an eyebrow. "This coming from the girl who snuck into her soul mate's workplace and punched him in the eye?" He then frowns. "I don't even know your name, actually."

Blue slyly smiles, her hazel eyes looking challengingly at him. "Oh yes, you do. If you have that old picture of me, you know who I am."

He speaks even before his photographic memory tells him the answer. "Leaf. Leaf Green."

He had only recently accepted the use of that name as a substitute to Blue in his mind, but it feels… _freeing_ to say it out loud. To finally have a face, a person to talk to and acknowledge as his soul mate takes a huge weight off of his shoulders.

Leaf's smile widens. To his shock, she plops herself right down onto his lap, taking the ice pack from him and placing it on the desk. "You know, I think I like how you say my name."

Gary raises an eyebrow. His breath can't help but hitch a little while his voice comes out hoarse. "And what is it that you like about that?"

Leaf taps him lightly on the nose. "You say my name like I'm the key to a new world of possibilities." She quickly adds, "I mean, I kind of am, but you sound so relieved to have finally met _me_."

"Well, I _have_ been trying to find you for the past ten years."

She presses her forehead against his, so close to him that their breaths intermingle. " _Well_ , I'm right here, right now…"

She closes her eyes, and, automatically, Gary shuts his as well. He feels like an anxious teenage girl expecting her first kiss, so he's surprised when he instead feels a light sensation on his right eye.

When he opens his eyes to look at Leaf questioningly, she softly laughs. "You don't think I'm going to make it _that_ easy for you, do you?"

He's a little embarrassed that he did- chalking it up to the soul mate connection, but he easily denies it with a cough. "Trust me, nothing about you indicates that being with you will be easy."


	7. Aegis Force: Perfection

**Hi guys! I know it's been a long time since I've last updated (as usual), but trust me, no one is more disappointed than me that I wasn't able to upload any new chapters over the summer. To make up for it (and for leaving you guys on a lot of cliffhangers, hehe), I'm posting this super long chapter for the** _Aegis Force AU_. **The characters may seem a little different from the first chapter, but hopefully not monumentally so.**

 **As always, thank you to all of my readers- especially those who left me reviews like** _Kazuya RandomAuthor, AquaStarlight, and D11_!

 **Without further ado, here's the next chapter!**

* * *

 _Taijiri Preparatory School_

 _Kanto Hall_

 _October 16, 2015, 17:49 EST_

Why did criminals always have to run?

She'd get it if this was the real world- but it's not. This is Taijiri Preparatory School, where running away would only allow one to escape the consequences until the next day if anything. As an elite boarding school, students were encouraged and allowed to take initiative- hence all the afterschool activities and societies- but that didn't mean that adult figures wouldn't step in for disciplinary measures.

Really, this answer sheet thief is just making things worse for him or herself.

"Running is futile- you're only making things worse for yourself by not accepting culpability." Leaf's voice carries across the darkened hallway, yet the shadowy figure does not cease its flight.

If anything, the thief begins to resist detainment even more- throwing and shoving various objects into her path such as floor signs, carts, and even textbooks that happen to be on the floor.

In the past, Leaf would've been able to dodge all these obstacles with ease, but her time in the lab has admittedly made her a little rusty and slow. She finds herself falling a little behind, but it's Gary who unknowingly pushes her to go faster.

' _Leaf, where the Ho Oh are you? I said not to engage, dammit!'_

She pushes the big button of the walkie-talkie on her hip. " _I'm_ catching our thief while you're just still sitting around." Before Gary can reply, she shuts the communication device off and sprints even harder.

She'll show _him_ how it's done and cement her position as a field agent.

The chase takes a turn right down the memorial hallway that Leaf knows to be a dead-end.

With a grin, Leaf shines her flashlight on the back of the hooded figure. "Aegis Force! Put your hands in the air and slowly turn around!"

As the adrenaline from the chase leaves her body, Leaf fails to notice the shadow that increasingly looms over her until it is too late. The marble statue of one of the alumnae Elite Four comes crashing down, and Leaf is barely able to move out its way; the falling statue gets her foot, and she hits the ground hard.

Her flashlight skids across the floor, and, before Leaf can even move to free her foot from underneath a chunk of marble, she hears the thief run past her to his or her freedom.

* * *

 _Tajiri Preparatory School_

 _Aegis Force Chief Office_

 _October 17, 2015, 6:45 EST_

"Never have I seen such an _appalling_ performance in my whole career in Aegis-"

Nathaniel's voice, while controlled, contains an undertone of frustration and anger as he continues to chide them.

From their seats, Leaf and Gary flinch. As top agents, they've rarely seen his anger directed towards them.

"I have half a mind to suspend you two from duty." Nathaniel pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'd understand a rookie making these mistakes, but you two?"

Leaf waits for Gary to throw her under the metaphorical bus, to say that it was all her fault. After all, it had been her who was so eager to chase the thief, tearing through the school in the process and destroying the statue of alumna Agatha.

She may have her pride, but even she could admit that she royally screwed up this time.

"We understand your frustration, sir, and we apologize," Gary says instead.

Leaf blinks in surprise, finally turning her gaze to her new partner beside her. His profile looks as serious and professional as always, but Leaf can see the genuine remorse and determination swirling in his viridian eyes.

"I know we messed up," Gary continues, "but _please_ …give us a chance to redeem ourselves."

She feels ashamed in the face of Gary's strength. For better or for worse, he has taken her in as his partner for the case. It would've been easy for him to say that it was her fault, to get her thrown off the case and back into the lab if he wanted.

Only Mew knows why he's taking the fall with her.

Nathaniel looks seriously at the both of them for what feels like a long time. Then he sighs. "Alright. You both haven't let me down prior to this incident…" His face picks up a stern expression once more as he warns them, "but one more mistake like this, and you both will be taken off duty for the remainder of the year."

Leaf speaks up for the first time this morning, "Understood, sir. We won't let you down again."

Nathaniel gives a terse nod. "Dismissed."

* * *

As Leaf walks into the briefing room with Gary behind her, she lets out a sigh of relief. Though she had never been on the receiving end of Nathaniel's ire, she had been expecting that meeting to go much worse than it had.

Gary shuts the door behind them, and Leaf's shoulder hunches up once more. While things with Nathaniel had gone better than expected, she has no reason to think that Gary won't chew her out either.

She doesn't know _why_ he hadn't thrown her under the bus, but she's waiting for the catch to his shielding her.

She's looking at him expectantly for quite some time before he finally speaks up.

"…you okay?"

Okay, that was most certainly not what she thought he'd say.

"I'm fine." Leaf answers, looking away from him. Her foot is still sore, but she had been lucky enough to avoid sustaining any head injuries. Though it pains her, Leaf knows that she should address her new debt to him. "Thanks for that. And I…I'm sorry for not listening to you yesterday."

He had told her to wait, but, as soon as she had seen that shadowy figure start picking the lock of the classroom door, she had bolted for the suspect. While it was true she had wanted to wrap up the case and had been going a bit stir crazy in the closet, she had also been eager to prove herself superior to Gary.

And that had been her downfall. She turned off the walkie-talkie, refusing back up and allowing the suspect to escape since Gary was unable to locate her until after the figure was long gone.

Gary waves her off. "We all make mistakes, Green. Yours just ended up in the destruction of school property. I just hope now you've learned to rely more on your partner, yeah?"

"I have." Leaf sighs. "It just sucks because I don't know if I could pay for the damages. That marble statue has to have been expensive."

Gary nods before making a face. "It was. I'm glad I'm not going to be there when the school has to inform my grandmother about the statue."

Oh, right. How could she have forgotten that Gary had a rich and talented legacy? It had been high on the reasons why she disliked Gary, but now she was awfully grateful. It'd be an even bigger blow to her pride, but perhaps she could ask him to intercede with his grandmother on her behalf. Her scholarship helped cover most of her tuition, as well as room and board, but not much else.

Her voice is small. "You think your grandmother's going to be really upset?"

"Nah, she'll get over it, and Gramps will just buy her a new statue. Besides, she never liked how small that last statue was. Said it made her seem too short."

She's not sure if he's just trying to make her feel better- or why he'd try to do so- but she decides to take advantage of his uncharacteristic kindness. She's no masochist, and Nathaniel's tongue-lashing was enough of a punishment for her. For now, she'll just have to take Gary's lead.

"So…what do we do now?" Leaf asks.

The answer sheet thief, if he or she had a lick of common sense or instinct for self-preservation, would most likely be laying low until the evidence trail ran cold. The literature test was actually going to be administered later today, and though the thief no longer had any opportunity to steal the sheet, both she and Aegis Force would love to have this case be closed once and for all.

"Simple. We catch the perp and write up a nice little case report at the end." Gary says confidently. With that kind of confidence, he could've been stating the impossible, and everyone would believe he'd be able to do it.

"Alright, but _how_ do we do that exactly?" She folds her arms, raising her eyebrow at him inquisitively.

Gary grins.

Before Leaf can press him for answers, someone knocks lightly on the briefing door before calling out, "Agent Oak!"

"Come on in, Ms. Berlitz." He's grinning so obnoxiously, like a glameow who's caught a pidgey.

A navy-haired girl that Leaf recognizes as a secretary enters, holding files in her hands. She looks a little nervous, but she is positively beaming as she lays the papers across the table for them.

"Ah, good work retrieving those archive files for me." Gary casually puts his hand on the girl's shoulder in a grateful gesture. To him, at least, it may seem casual, but Leaf guesses that contact with him is making Berlitz's day. "I know that that request was a bit demanding, so thank you, Ms. Berlitz."

"No problem, Agent Oak!" Her response is enthusiastic, and she's starting to look at Gary with stars in her eyes.

Leaf clears her throat. "Thank you, Ms. Berlitz. We'll be sure to start right away on the files you've brought us."

"Oh!" The bluenette startles, her smile slipping from her face a bit before it returns full force. She bows hastily. Must be Japanese. "Of course! I'll be sure to get out of your way!"

The door clicks shut after her, and, though Leaf is expecting Gary to make some comment to her about her passive way of kicking out Berlitz, he says nothing.

"What are these files?" Leaf asks, stepping next to him to look. The archives hold information on numerous subjects, and she could only narrow so much.

"These are files on previous student-run organizations-" Leaf raises an eyebrow questioningly, but Gary continues. "-that do not operate, ah, above board."

"So the cults and criminal organizations?"

Now that she can see the papers, she can see the different symbols and reports on previous Aegis experience with the different groups. Leaf makes a face as she recognizes a Skuntank symbol.

"Oak, what exactly are we looking for?" She asks in exasperation, once it becomes clear that he wasn't going to tell her himself.

"Oh yeah-" Gary, still looking through the files, jams one of his hands into his right pocket. He fishes a little pin out. "-I found this last night while I was following your trail of destruction in the hallways. I have every reason to believe that"

Leaf gapes. "That's against protocol."

Mr. Perfect _didn't_ submit evidence to Aegis Force HQ?!

He actually looks up to give her an amused expression. "Pot calling the kettle black, isn't it?"

She huffs indignantly. "Just very hypocritical, coming from you."

"Technically," Gary's face is smug, "I'm not even breaking protocol. This pin wasn't found at any crime scene."

Leaf glares at him. Yet another reason for her disliking him had been his ability to find the tiniest of loopholes and thus manipulate the rules to his desire.

He laughs at her murderous glare. "It's not my fault that Lady Luck loves me. Besides, if Nathaniel knew that an organization might be involved, he'd pull you immediately off the case. Especially after last night."

Dammit, he had a point.

Reluctantly, Leaf lets the matter go, and takes the pin from him to further examine it. It's a metallic pin, composed of two squares slightly overlapping one another. One is white, the other grey.

"Perfection." Leaf voices her thought aloud. She feels Gary's gaze on her, but she doesn't glance away from the pin. After a moment, Leaf looks directly at Gary. "It's the Perfection insignia, I'm sure of it."

He doesn't question her. Instead, he sorts through the files until he finds the one they're looking for.

"The Perfection," He reads aloud, "previously headed by alumni Reukra Delta, though his involvement was not known until after his graduation. In the words of its previous members, cult aims to have Taijiri and her students, as well as the greater world, reach their definition of perfection. Though its purpose sounds innocent and its actions previously nonviolent, it should be noted that the cult is persistent and will use any methods it deems necessary to achieve its goals. Such methods have included interfering in school elections, bribery and blackmail of student representatives, destruction of school property, and disbanding clubs conflicting with their ideals. Currently inactive, following the suspension and mandatory therapy sessions of its members."

Gary whistles. "Good eye, Green. They've been inactive for almost fifteen years, so it would've taken awhile to match the pin up to them."

He doesn't bother asking her how she recognized the pin. Knowing him, she was sure he already knew.

Leaf frowns. "But the real question is, if they're reemerging, _why_ go after the answer sheet to a sophomore literature test? Don't they have bigger fish to fry?"

"Maybe it's some form of member initiation?" Gary suggests.

The brunette scoffs. "It's Perfection. Not the Thieves' Guild. Besides, in the scheme of criminal organizations and cults, stealing answer sheets is rather small."

"But Perfection is undoubtedly weaker than it was fifteen years ago. Its methods could've changed." After a moment of thinking, Gary adds, "Actually, considering my grandmother's destroyed statue, I'd say the new cult seems more violent towards those who might stand in their way."

"But _why_ would their way be stealing Mr. Fuwacchi's test answer key? Unless…" Leaf's hand balls into a fist that she smacks into her palm. "Their original plan was to sell it at the black market, where they undoubtedly would fetch for a high price."

"A bit of a rush job though," Gary comments, though his eyebrows furrow down in thought.

"They must've done it because they had no other option…but what's happening soon that they might need that money for?" Leaf uses his comment as a jumping point.

There's silence as both wrack their brains. There were too many events to keep track of, and it wasn't like the two of them spent a lot of their time in other extracurriculars in the first place.

* * *

 _Taijiri Preparatory School_

 _Aegis Force Briefing Room_

 _October 17, 2015, 7:30 EST_

They're in the middle of writing out possible events and reasons for their sudden need of lots of cash on the white board when Agent Ketchum blunders into the room, throwing the door wide open with force that sent the files falling from the table.

"Whoops, my bad." He rubs at his neck nervously. After getting dubious stares from the other occupants of the room, he begins to ramble. "I, uh, didn't realize that this room was being occupied…by, uh, you, Oak."

"…and Green." Ketchum amends after a receiving a small glare from Leaf.

"Berlitz told you we were in here, didn't she?" Gary sighs after Ketchum doesn't immediately leave.

"…Yeah," Ketchum admits. "She said that you two were in here for an awfully long amount of time… but she didn't say anything about you guys actually working!"

"…what did you think we were doing?" Leaf questions suspiciously.

Ketchum merely bites his lips.

She looks to Gary, who, though is maintaining his usual laid back demeanor, Leaf notices has a pinkness to his ears that wasn't there before.

"I don't want to know," Leaf says simply, not wanting to conjure up any mental images of Gary canoodling with other girls in this room. _Bleck._

Did she have to now sanitize whatever briefing room she enters? She thought his professionalism would've won out over his flirtatious ways, but now she supposes not.

Too late, Ketchum fumbles to explain himself. "No, no, it's not what you think. I _thought_ that, that…uh, you might've killed Oak?"

It's clearly not what his first thought had been, but seeing Ketchum nod with a thoughtful expression on his face, Leaf realizes that he now _does_ think that was a huge possibility.

After all, almost all the Aegis Force officers that knew both Gary and Leaf were aware of their animosity and (admittedly one-sided) rivalry.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did," Ketchum hastens as an after-thought. Gary shoots him an offended look, but he continues. "I mean, Gary- er, Oak- can be very obnoxious. There was this one time he slept over where I myself was very tempted to smother him with his pillow."

Gary and Leaf had different responses to Ketchum's admission of conspiracy to commit murder:

"Wow, Ketchum. I guess next time you come over, I'll have to resist my own temptation to poison Daisy's cookies."

"Wow, Ketchum, if I had the opportunity you did, I'm not sure if Oak would be standing here today."

Gary gave her an incredulous look.

"What? I was joking." Leaf blinks innocently. "After all, I wouldn't want _your_ murder on my conscience."

Ketchum laughs. "I can see why you like talking to her, Oak. She's hilarious."

Before Leaf can process what Ketchum had just said, Gary steers the conversation away the desire to murder him. "While you're here Ketchum, mind if we pick your brain on the case?"

Automatically, the other two shift back into professionalism.

"Sure, what's up?" Ketchum nods as Leaf crouches down to pick up the files that had flown off the table.

"We're looking at events happening in the very near future that may be of huge significance, and you're familiar with a lot of the clubs. Do you happen to know anything off the top of your head?" Gary directs him to the white board.

Ketchum purses his lips in thought. He's quiet for a second, before he snaps his fingers. "Ah, wait, Commissioner Knight did ask me to attend the Student Council meeting this Saturday to ensure that the security was good."

Leaf and Gary look at one another. "There's a Student Council meeting this Saturday?"

"Yeah, it's some huge meeting where all of the delegates are finally putting to vote the ongoing school policies. They didn't want the school newspaper catching wind of this meeting since they'd be distracting, so that's why very few students outside of student government know that the meeting exists."

Gary and Leaf come to the same conclusion at the same time. "Perfection wants to influence school policies through the Student Council meeting!"

* * *

 **Just a couple of notes and reminders about this AU:**

 **1) Taijiri Preparatory is like the Pokemon world in that the youth are highly encouraged to take care of matters themselves. You may wonder "where the hell are the adults?" and trust me, they're there. They just won't be interfering until things get drastic. Also Taijiri has a town nearby but for a LOT of students, it's a boarding school.**

 **2) Aegis Force is very much the police force, Student Council/Government is like Legislation, and there's an Honor oard which serves as the judiciary.**

 **3) Technically this AU is from Leaf's third person perspective, so Dawn and Ash are referred to by their last names because Leaf doesn't really know their first names/care enough to learn it. While I do refer to Gary and Leaf when writing what they're doing, I do want to point out that they only call each other by last names too.**

 **4) You can imagine what you want about what Ash thought Gary and Leaf were up to in the briefing room ;) you can also think what you want about why Gary was embarrassed.**

 **5) Based on Dawn's admiration of Gary in the anime, it's always been a headcanon of mine that he's a role model to her. She's a year younger than Gary and Leaf (so she's a sophomore), so she just really looks up to her upperclassmen.**

 **6) Gary regrets telling Ash anything because he is the worst wingman ever.**

 **7) Perfection is a real cult in the pokemon world. I don't know much about it (literally typed in Pokemon Cult on a whim and was surprised when five cults popped up), but I tweaked it to work better in this AU.**

 **Please give me your comments, opinions, and suggestions!**


	8. Forget: The Heart Still Remembers

**Oh my gosh, two updates within twenty-four hours? This is the most quickly I've ever updated xD (and I really hope that doesn't show because technically I had the first two scenes written out for a month).**

 **I thought it'd be unfair for the _Forget AU_ to be the only one without a second chapter. Like all the other ones, it'll be tying up some loose ends but leaving even more (tbh, even when I will officially finish an AU, I'll still leave some loose ends just in case I want to revisit it/ to let you guys imagine the ending)**

 **Anyway, hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

For all her talk in the café to her friends, Leaf finds herself at a loss when handling Gary Oak. To be perfectly honest, she was at a loss on how to properly interact with him even back when they were dating. When it came to their relationship, it was always Gary at the helm, taking the lead because he was more confident, more experienced.

Things aren't the same since they broke up six months ago, but old habits die hard. When Leaf has been stepping into his white-washed hospital room for the past couple of days, she has found herself deferring to his whims of affection with minimal resistance. She lets him kiss her, touch her, hold her hand.

 _(She doesn't let herself think that maybe- just maybe- she doesn't resist because her heart still yearns for him, still sings his name.)_

In the sterile hospital room, in a world of their own, it is so easy to forget and fall back into their old patterns. But the world outside them has changed, and the time has finally come for that change to be reflected.

* * *

The visit starts like all the others, with Leaf coming in with food and some form of entertainment for herself and Gary. She takes her usual spot by his bedside and proceeds to spoil him rotten by spoon feeding him the food she got from the hospital cafeteria.

 _(There's nothing wrong with his digestive system or his ability to feed himself, mind you. They had been discussing his lack of appetite, and he had jokingly asked her to spoon feed him once; she doesn't quite know why she did it that time or why she continues to do it. She tells herself it's because it makes Gary easier to deal with.)_

He makes a face as he usually does, but he doesn't complain. Though the food tastes almost like complete crap to him, it's almost complete crap that his beautiful girlfriend is lovingly spoon feeding him.

"I can't wait to get out of here and eat _real_ food." Gary sighs as Leaf gently blows on the hot soup. "We can go out and celebrate at that new restaurant opening up on Route 21."

Leaf stiffens.

The truth of the matter is, the new restaurant that Gary was referring to had actually had their grand opening seven months ago. They had gone to the grand opening due to Gary's social connections and had fallen in love with it. The two of them had become regulars, going down to the waterfront every week on date night.

It was after one of those weekly dates that Gary had suddenly broken up with her. Leaf hadn't been back since.

Leaf attempts to keep her expression light. While Gary is vaguely aware of his amnesia, no one has told him the general timeframe of missing memories nor any of the major events that had occurred in that span of time. The doctors determined that giving him details of what was missing would put an unnecessarily large amount of stress and pressure on him to remember.

"Actually, Gare-" she starts, as she carefully maneuvers the spoon to his mouth. But then she realizes it'd be better to just go with the flow. "-that sounds like a wonderful idea. Dinner with Professor Oak and Daisy is always fun."

He swallows the food before furrowing his brows. "Leafy, I was talking about dinner with just the two of us." He gestures to the white around them. "I think we need a date night that doesn't involve us playing card games in a hospital room."

Leaf frowns. It is much easier to pretend to still be his girlfriend in here, where, aside from Gary being physically affectionate towards her, their activities could be perceived as platonic.

"But I love kicking your butt at Slapjack and…well, everything else." Leaf says instead.

"Hey," Gary protests, a smile spreading across his face. "It's not like I'm bad. You're just unnaturally good at every card game under the sun. In fact, if I didn't know you better, I'd think you're a card shark, babe."

"If I was a card shark, I wouldn't have let you catch me without making some money off you." She laughs, shuffling the deck with flourish.

"You're right." Gary smiles cheesily. "You're a shiny Dragonair I was lucky enough to catch."

Leaf shoves him lightly. "Oh gawd, that was the _worst_ line you've ever used!"

 _(She doesn't acknowledge that it actually kind of worked)_

* * *

The day that the hospital _finally_ releases Gary, he excitedly invites her out to celebrate at _Palate_ …just the two of them. As a result of sheer panic, Leaf invites her friends over to help her prepare.

"Ooh, this top is _so_ cute!" Dawn squeals, as she pulls out a red lace shirt from Leaf's closet. She holds it against Leaf, eyeing the two. "Mist, whatcha think?"

Misty, while still not entirely fond of fashion, has come in order to be a calm counteragent to Dawn's excitement. "Red's more of Miss Grumpy's color." She tilts her head towards May, who is pouting petulantly on Leaf's bed.

"Oh trueee." Dawn says thoughtfully before continuing to paw through Leaf's small closet. "Cool colors would complement Leaf's skin tone more."

"Girls, I seriously don't know what to do," Leaf complains. When she had invited them over, it had been for advice on Gary, not help on picking out her outfit. "I haven't been back in almost half a year. Castello's going to think I'm super shady and might possibly expose me to Gary."

May grumbles, muttering something that sounds suspiciously like _'Just stand that asshole up.'_

"Leaf, it'll be fine." Misty gets up from her seat in front of Leaf's vanity to drape her arms comfortingly around Leaf's shoulders. "I'm sure this Castello won't think much of you and Gary having dinner together after not coming to his restaurant for a while. It's a small town, and he's probably put together that you guys broke up. He'll probably think you guys got back together."

"Yeah but," Leaf bites her lips, "if Castello says something to Gary, Gary will get suspicious."

May groans. Leaf's thinking more about Gary than she'd like. "Leaf, just call up the restaurant, ask to speak to Castello, and then let him in on Gary's condition. Just don't say you're still pretending to be with that jerk though."

"You're right!" Leaf nods, her face brightening as she thought of how that'd work. And then: "But wait, Gary probably already spoke to Castello to get a reservation. Arceus, what if Castello already let it slip? Oh Ho Oh, I also should've just eased Gary into it that the restaurant opening already passed! He's probably reeling-"

"Breathe, girl!" May snaps her out of it. "Look, Gary's not calling you in some hissy fit about hiding your break up, and neither are Professor Oak or Daisy to say that Gary's relapsed or anything."

"That's true…" Leaf nods numbly as Misty begins to rub comforting circles onto her shoulder. Misty sends May a grateful look. Despite her disdain towards Gary, May could still be counted on to comfort Leaf.

"Not to mention," Dawn rejoins the conversation as she pulls a hanger from Leaf's closet with flourish, "there's no way Gary's going to be thinking of _anything_ besides how sexy Leaf looks in this little number."

"Oh that'll look great on you, Leaf," Misty says encouragingly, while May returns to grumbling.

Leaf gapes at the dress that Dawn picked out. It had been the dress she was wearing that last, fateful date night. It'd be hard for her to feel in control, wearing _that_.

She doesn't want to see her friends looking sympathetically at her, so she instead reaches in for a navy romper she bought recently.

"I dunno, I think I'm really feeling this one," Leaf says lightly. She quickly disappears with it behind her changing screen, ignoring the looks her friends give to one another.

* * *

 _6 months ago_

 _The sun is just barely seen on the horizon, but Leaf can still feel its warmth on her skin. The seasons are beginning to change, and soon they won't be able to walk with alongside the water after dinner like they usually do, but Leaf knows that so long as Gary continues holding her hand, they can go anywhere._

 _Their fingers are loosely intertwined, and Gary's thumb has been rubbing circles along the thenar of her hand. It's comforting, and Leaf can't help but break into a smile._

 _Sure, there are moments where Gary feels so far away when he's right next to her, but, in this moment, she feels like she's soaring over the divide and back to him. Nothing could take away the happiness she feels from being at his side._

 _She's too caught up in enjoying the moment, pointing out the disappearing fins of a flying magikarp and making some stupid joke that she won't ever remember looking back on this night._

 _It's not until Gary's laughter fails to join Leaf's own giggles that an odd sense of foreboding strikes her in the gut._

" _Gare?" Her free hand reaches out in concern to touch his own cheek. He lets her pull his head down to hers, taking strength from their touching foreheads. Her voice is so quiet, the waves almost drown her out. "Is something the matter?"_

 _He inhales, and Leaf feels like he's taking the air from her own lungs. Dread fills her stomach as she thinks about what could possibly be so bad to get Gary to act this way._

 _Another argument with Professor Oak? More issues with Daisy's new boyfriend Bill?_

 _It must be something close to Gary's heart to get him so upset. If it was a smaller issue, Gary wouldn't bother to show this rare side to Leaf. She always finds about his problems after he's solved them, when he's boasting about it._

" _Gary, you're worrying me." It's when she expresses her concern that Gary pulls gently away from her, his shoulders sinking as he exhales._

 _He doesn't even look in the eyes when he says it. For all his bravado, he can't even meet her eyes when he shatters her heart, her world._

" _Leaf, I think we should break up."_

* * *

 **I think the only endings I can nail are the really sad or dramatic ones. I wasn't even going to write out their break up scene at first, but then I thought it'd be a better way to end the chapter than what I had originally written out.**

 **Some notes about this AU:**

 **1) Leaf still has no idea what she's doing. But she'll find her way soon enough, and you'll see the independent Leaf.**

 **2) May might seem OOC , but, again, she thinks Gary is neither worth Leaf's time nor her stress.**

 **3) Yes, Palate is a pun off of Pallet Town. I think it's kind of funny but to each their own.**

 **3.5) Castello is a friend of Gary's and the owner of Palate. He's not showing up as far as I'm concerned, but I just thought I'd clarify who he is.**

 **4) Gary and Leaf broke up in the fall, and it's spring in the present.**

 **Please give me your comments, opinions, and suggestions! Feel free to also leave any questions :) if you have a FFN account, I'd be more than happy to PM you with answers (given that it's not too spoiler-y)**


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